Wildlife Protection Amendment Bill 2022: Parliamentary Panel Suggests Changes

Wildlife Protection Amendment Bill 2022: Relevance

• GS 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Wildlife Protection Amendment Bill 2022: Context

• Recently, the parliamentary panel headed by Jairam Ramesh submitted a report, after reviewing the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill 2021.

Wildlife Protection Amendment Bill 2022: Key points

• The panel highlighted several concerns regarding the legislation and urged the Union ministry of environment to consider the recommendations of scientists and conservationists mentioned in the report.
• Soon after the Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha, it drew criticisms citing several loopholes that could be exploited.
• Several wildlife and legal experts are of the opinion that the provisions under the Bill were counterintuitive to the objectives of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Wildlife Protection Amendment Bill 2022: Key criticisms

• Standing committee of the state board for wildlife (SBWL): This proposed body will be headed by its vice-chairperson, a post to be held by the state’s forest minister, and should not have more than 10 members nominated by the panel chief.
  • Experts claimed that such a board would be “packed with official members” and end up being a “rubber stamp for faster clearance of projects”.
• Subsection (4) to Section 43 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, specifically prohibits trade in wild animals including captive and wild elephants. The introduction of a new sub-section 4 takes away the protection from trade in elephants.
• Some species were excluded from various schedules of wildlife and plants that have been proposed by the Environment Ministry.

Wildlife Protection Amendment Bill 2022: Key recommendations

• Standing committee of the state board for wildlife: This body must have as its members at least one-third non-official members, at least three institutional members (like the National Tiger Conservation Authority), and the director of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) or their nominee.
• The House panel report has also recommended the deletion of subsection 4 and provide an explanation of provisions for transport of captive elephants.
• The House Panel has recommended a revised listing of schedules to include the excluded species.

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